February 14, 2021

Happy Valentine's Day! I know the heading on this page advertises time-lapse videos, but I had fun this morning making a video of a hummingbird and it is easier to share it here than to create a new page. This is a frame grab from the video that you can find below.

Anna's Hummingbird, 2/14/2021

I bring in the seed and nectar feeders at night. When I put out the hummingbird feeder in the mornings, many times a male Anna's is waiting for me. As soon as I let go of the feeder he is at it. But usually lands on the fence and pokes his beak up where the lid connects to the base (as you can see at the beginning of the video), rather than poking down through the access ports. He can't get any nectar like that. Later he comes in from the top. I've started taking my cell phone with me to try to capture video, and this morning I was lucky. I started out with slow motion, then switched to real-time.

I love the audio during slow motion, where you can easily hear his sharp chip notes and his wing beats. Slowing the audio down drops the pitch so us old folks who are losing our upper range can hear the vocalizations. Listen carefully during the last 16 seconds. Just before he dips in to drink he makes his faint chip sound. He does this 7-8 times. Click here to play the video in a new window.

February 11, 2021

OK, I know that there aren't many birds in the following videos, but 2020 was a pretty lean year for my photo-birding endeavors, and I wanted something new to fill the gap. So for a while I plan to post time-lapse videos and scenery images here on my Home page. You can still find the bird pages through the menus at the left or by using the Search pane.

These videos were made with inexpensive WyzeCam security cameras, either the v2 Pan and Tilt or the newer v3, which does excellent infrared videos for catching deer and cloud activity at night. The camera is set to take one picture every three seconds, for three hours. This results in a 2-minute video of approximately 480 MB. I then edit the video and add a sound track and render it for the Web.

I mounted the WyzeCam v3 on a tripod and placed it on our deck, facing Dungeness Bay, overlooking Dungeness Spit with Victoria in the background, or on the ground next to the front porch facing the Olympics. Some of the videos are shot through the front window, which works well in some light conditions. The v3 records in color well after sunset, but eventually switches to infrared, which is basically black and white. With infrared, every bug or rain drop or snow flake in range produces a white streak. With time-lapse everything speeds up so it can get pretty frenetic. I find it mesmerizing if I can find the right music to go with it.

Looking North over Dungeness Bay towards Victoria

• Feb 06, 2021 : (16 MB) I hadn't anticipated that the camera would pick up the gentleman who was pruning our apple tree, nor did I anticipate the wind picking up suddenly and a 35 mph gust toppling the tripod. Happily, a deck chair blocked the tripod from falling to the deck and no damage was done, other than the abrupt conclusion to the video. Audio: Jerry Douglas - Dobro
• February 9, 2021 : (43 MB) I like this video for the cloud action, the changing light conditions from infrared to daylight and back to infrared hours later, as well as the sunlight and shadows, the boats moving past, and the lights of Victoria. Audio: Jerry Douglas - Dobro
• February 10, 2021 : (63 MB) This video captured some rain and snow action. It looks much nastier than it really was, especially in the infrared part. Audio: Jerry Douglas - Dobro

Infrared Videos

• January 25, 2021 : (23 MB) This is the first night I placed the WyzeCam v3 outside at night to see if we had any critters roaming around. It appears that the local deer herd likes to sleep in the front yard and wake up to snack on the lush green clover periodically. Audio: Outback - Hold On
• January 28, 2021 : (39 MB) More deer and cloud action. Audio: Herb Alpert - Whipped Cream

Clouds Over the Olympic Mountains

• January 7, 2020: (23 MB) Audio: Bela Fleck - Two-Part Invention No. 13 on Perpetual Motion
• January 9, 2020: (23 MB) Audio: Edgar Meyer - Gigue - on Bach Unaccompanied Cello Suite on Double Base

Snow

• January 14, 2020: (35 MB Audio: Louis Armstrong - What a Wonderful World - on What a Wonderful World
• January 16, 2020: (29 MB) Audio: Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandell - Dueling Banjos on Apalacian Stomp-Bluegrass Classics

Landscaping

• December 18, 2018: (78 MB) This is a real-time video of the C&J Excavating crew digging new dry well.
• July 17-18, 2019: (87 MB) Crew from New Dungeness Nursery creating new planting areas. Audio: Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli - Swing from Paris and Sweet Georgia Brown on Swing from Paris.
• October 3-4, 2019: (40 MB) Randy of Excel Services removing sod and spreading top soil. Audio: Lester Flatt and Earl Scrugs - Foggy Mountain Breakdown on Appalacian Stomp-Bluegrass Classics
• October 12, 2019: (52 MB) Javan and Christy of JC Hydroseeding spraying clover seed. Audio: Boogie Woogie Kid - Thumper on Boogie Woogie Kid